A Rock ’n’ Roll Star Who Uses Photography to Embrace the Darker Side of Life

A Rock ’n’ Roll Star Who Uses Photography to Embrace the Darker Side of Life

Victory Tischler-Blue views her photographs as single-framed cinematic dramas. Shot around the American Southwest—many within a day’s drive of her home in Palm Springs—her work explores the idea of abandonment from a human and environmental perspective.

“For most of my adult life I've been a filmmaker, so by nature I'm a story teller,” Tischler-Blue said about her photographs. “Photography is a sensory thing for me and my work always has an undercurrent of dark tension, a feeling that some emotional drama has just taken place or is about to. You might not be privy to the back-story, but you always know something's about to give.”

Tischler-Blue often goes on “endless road trips” around the desert looking for inspiration and then returns at night to make the photographs. A series of her images titled “Of Beauty and Ruin” will be on display at Spot Photo Works in Los Angeles beginning Sept. 20.

Hwy 177.

Victory Tischler-Blue

Smile Now Cry Later.

Victory Tischler-Blue

Stardust.

Victory Tischler-Blue

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She describes the work in the series as being desolate, like striking an “empty, lonely minor chord.” The musical reference is apt: Although Tischler-Blue has long been interested in pursuing a career in photography, a rock ’n’ roll life got in the way. When she was 17, Tischler-Blue joined the band The Runaways and her life went in a completely different direction, albeit one that also piqued her interest in photography.

“Whenever we had photo sessions I was always interested in what was going on with the lighting, the lenses and the cameras; I never wanted to leave the studio and ultimately that translated into becoming a photographer and shooting nonstop on the road,” she said.

After leaving the band, Tischler-Blue went into independent filmmaking but became disillusioned when the field began to become more corporate. Turning to photography seemed like a logical progression, an opportunity to explore an art form she feels is her true calling.

“I find myself going out there now trying to tell a story within a single frame,” she said. “If you can convey your premise, you’re onto something; I feel like I can be more concise with my story and inject a beginning, middle and end… with a single frame I can capture it and hold it still forever.”

Hwy 58.

Victory Tischler-Blue

Green Spot Motel.

Victory Tischler-Blue

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A self-described happy person who lives in the middle of Palm Springs on an Andalusian horse ranch, Tischler-Blue said she enjoys using photography as an outlet to explore her darker side. It also allows her to further evolve as an artist, a complicated process after being part of such a well-known rock band that simultaneously opened doors for her, but also stunted her growth a bit.

“It will always be a part of me and I will always be associated with it no matter what I do,” she said about The Runaways. “But with photography it’s so different; it’s so important to keep evolving, for everyone to keep evolving.”

“I just love to shoot situations where when the viewer looks at the image and it triggers things inside of them, I like my work to trigger other people.”

Desert Center Chevron.

Victory Tischler-Blue

Ragsdale Road.

Victory Tischler-Blue

David Rosenberg is the editor of Slate’s Behold blog. He has worked as a photo editor for 15 years and is a tennis junkie. Follow him on Twitter.